DENVER — One goaltender decided the outcome at Ball Arena on Wednesday night, and he wasn’t wearing an Avalanche sweater. 

The Colorado Avalanche dictated long stretches of play, limited chances at the other end, and still walked away with just a single point as Lukáš Dostál stood on his head and the Anaheim Ducks escaped with a 2–1 shootout victory, extending their winning streak to five games. 

The Avalanche trailed until 3:39 remained in regulation, when Artturi Lehkonen one-timed a Brock Nelson feed past Dostál to force overtime. Five scoreless minutes followed, and in the shootout, Anaheim was incredible. Mikael Granlund and Cutter Gauthier both beat Scott Wedgewood to seal the win. Wedgewood finished the night with 16 saves. 

“I thought we were pretty all over it,” Nelson said. “Didn’t really give them a whole lot. They maybe had one or two little flurries, but I thought we had a fair share of good looks. Just couldn’t get one earlier to kind of crack it and get momentum.”

Jeffrey Viel scored Anaheim’s lone regulation goal, while Radko Gudas and Gauthier each recorded an assist. The Avalanche didn't look like itself, but the defining factor in Colorado's muted night was the play of Dostál, who authored one of the best performances of his career with a brilliant 40-save effort. 

Anaheim acquired the 28-year-old Viel from the Boston Bruins on Friday in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Known primarily as an energy player willing to drop the gloves, Viel had recorded just three goals in 64 NHL games prior to the trade. However, he has already found the back of the net twice in his first three games with the Ducks.

TIE GAME! 🤩

Artturi Lehkonen has tied it up for the @Avalanche! pic.twitter.com/P1Lc9Iumpn

— NHL (@NHL) January 22, 2026

First Period 

Colorado earned an early opportunity to set the tone when Ducks forward Ross Johnston was whistled for tripping Brock Nelson just 2:45 into the opening period. The Avalanche generated quality looks on the ensuing power play. Cale Makar split Anaheim’s defense to test Dostál, Victor Olofsson fanned on a prime chance, and Nathan MacKinnon attempted to create offense from a sharp angle, only to miss the net. 

Momentum stalled when Jack Drury was assessed a holding minor against Anaheim forward Jansen Harkins at the 7:10 mark. The call appeared marginal and left Drury visibly frustrated, though the officials remained unmoved. Colorado’s penalty kill responded effectively, shutting down Anaheim’s first power-play opportunity of the night. 

Second Period 

Anaheim broke the deadlock midway through the second following a costly Colorado offensive-zone turnover by Sam Malinski. Gauthier jump-started the counterattack, carrying the puck deep before sliding a pass to Jeffrey Viel at the left circle. Viel waited patiently as Gauthier drifted through the slot to provide a moving screen, then snapped a wrist shot past Wedgewood to give the Ducks a 1–0 lead. 

An odd sequence followed moments later when Bennett Sennecke collided with Wedgewood and dislodged the net from its moorings. Under normal circumstances, play is immediately blown dead. Instead, officials inexplicably allowed play to continue — a decision emblematic of an increasingly concerning trend in league-wide officiating this season. 

Late in the period, Ross Colton nearly tied the game after firing a shot from the slot off a perfectly timed feed from Gavin Brindley, but Dostál came up with a stellar save. Anaheim was penalized on the play, as Drew Helleson was sent off for holding, giving Colorado its second power play of the evening. For Colton, it was another near miss in a recent stretch defined by quality chances and better goaltending at the other end. 

Third Period 

Colorado continued to push in the final frame. Lehkonen attempted to connect with Nelson on a rush opportunity at the right doorstep, but Dostál shut the door once again. A follow-up bid on the rebound was denied by the Ducks goaltender’s stick — emblematic of a night in which every Avalanche surge was met with just enough resistance to keep the puck out. 

Finally, in the closing stages of the game, Lehkonen and Nelson connected. And contrary to recent team history, there was no challenge for goaltender interference or offsides as the tying goal stood. 

Takeaways

Here’s a smooth, normal edit that tightens things up and avoids repetition while keeping the same message:

"I think at the end of the day, their goalie had a big night, and we had a tough time with some of our execution early in the game."

Coach Jared Bednar | Full presser ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0ftHOohmc2

— DNVR Avalanche (@DNVR_Avalanche) January 22, 2026

Jared Bednar was insightful in Wednesday’s postgame press conference. From a defensive standpoint, Colorado played a strong game, though Dostál—who has been hot and cold at times this season—was simply playing out of his depth. Bednar wasn’t pleased with the team’s puck movement in the opening period, but that improved as the game went on. Even so, for much of the night, the Avalanche couldn’t find a way to get a puck past him. Dostál made highlight-reel saves throughout the evening. Sometimes, that’s just hockey.

Colorado finished the night 0/2 on the power play and remained without the services of captain Gabe Landeskog, Devon Toews, and Joel Kiviranta, who remain injured. The Avs recalled Jack Ahcan and Taylor Makar for this game.

On the other side of the ice, Anaheim was missing two of its top young talents. Leading scorer Leo Carlsson has been sidelined since Jan. 10 with a thigh injury that could prevent the 21-year-old Swedish star from competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Carlsson underwent a procedure to repair the injury last week. Meanwhile, Mason McTavish was a late scratch just before puck drop due to an upper-body injury.

As the home stand begins to wrap-up, the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Anaheim Ducks at Ball Arena. Much like the previous meeting in November, it was a hard-fought game but goals were tough to come by. Both Scott Wedgewood and Lucas Dostal put on a show but the Ducks got the 2-1 win in a shootout.

The Game

It was a slow to start to the contest by both teams as they traded unsuccessful power plays and saw the first period end in a scoreless tie. Colorado did craft a 9-4 shot advantage at least.

Despite holding Anaheim to just five shots on goal through the midpoint of the game, it was the Ducks who got on the board first on a rush into the Avalanche zone. The sniper was none other than Jeff Viel, who was once an Avalanche rookie camp invite most known for fighting Josh Anderson to conclude the second to last ever Burgundy and White scrimmage game in 2016.

With 20 shots on goal through the second frame the Avalanche were a degree of snake-bit, most notably with Zakhar Bardakov getting a glorious chance on a loose puck at the net front and Ross Colton on a breakaway hoping to pot his first goal since November, but neither could get the puck over Lukas Dostal’s left leg pad.

A late power play could have changed fortunes for the Avalanche but they came up empty yet again and the second period concluded with a 1-0 Ducks lead.

Colorado came out with purposed energy in the third period but Dostal continued to stand on his head. The Ducks almost escaped with a shutout but as the clock counted down to nearly three minutes to go, Artturi Lehkonen took a cross-ice pass and buried the puck to tie the game 1-1. There was a tense moment when Scott Wedgewood had to dive back to swat a puck off the goal line minutes later but the score remained the same and the game needed overtime to resolve.

In the extra frame both goaltenders put on a show. Dostal stopped multiple point blank chances but Wedgewood faced several uncontested rushes and made the saves needed. So, on to the shootout it went.

Mikael Granlund scored right away for Anaheim then all three of Brock Nelson, Beckett Sennecke and Martin Nečas were stopped. Cutter Gauthier netted the second shootout goal for Anaheim and they sealed the 2-1 victory.

Takeaways

It was nice to see Gavin Brindley off the fourth line and he made good on the promotion setting up Colton several times. However at the end of the night he still played less than seven minutes, which isn’t going to have an impact for the Avalanche. With analytics of 80% Corsi For and 97% expected goals in this game you’d hope he’d see a little more opportunity.

Lucas Dostal made 40 saves and stopped both Colorado shootout attempts, he certainly earned his win and first star of the game. It was fun to watch Wedgewood match him save-for-save at the end of the game, which unfortunately had to be settled in a shootout. Considering the Avalanche are now 1-5 in the skills competition this season, it’s a position they hope not to be in much down the stretch.

Upcoming

One final game at home when the Philadelphia Flyers come to town on Friday, January 23rd at 7 p.m. MT. Colorado will also celebrate the 2001 Stanley Cup team.

SEATTLE -- The New York Islanders were unable to end their seven-game road trip on a positive note, falling 4-1 to the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night.

They return home with a 3-3-1 record. 

Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves. Philipp Grubauer made 23 saves. 

The Islanders went 1-for-7 on the power play, with just seven shots. One of the power plays lasted eight seconds, but they did play 10:22 with the man advantage, including a 5-on-3 power play for six seconds. 

Here's how the game unfolded.

The Islanders scored first in this one, courtesy of Anthony Duclair on the power play from the bumper spot off a feed from Calum Ritchie at 2:38 of the first period:

A Ritchie pass and Duclair finishes. The #Isles take a 1-0 lead. Sounds familiar - if you are an Isles fan.

Stick with it!!! 8 goals in 8 games for Anthony Duclair. pic.twitter.com/Uv5wMiKJgG

— The Elmonters (@TheElmonters) January 22, 2026

That was Duclair's fifth goal in four games, scoring eight in his last game. Ritchie extended his point streak to four games (4A) -- a career high -- while Mathew Barzal recorded his third point in two games (3A). 

The Islanders found themselves on a 5-on-3 power play, but weren't able to execute. 

Unfortunately for the Islanders, Seattle got their chance at a 5-on-3 and made Patrick Roy's squad pay when Matty Beniers deflected a Vince Dunn shot blocker side at 10:40 of the first. 

There were 9:02 minutes of collective power play time in the opening period, with the Islanders going 1-for-4 and Seattle going 1-for-2. 

The ice tilted right then and there, as Seattle went on to score another two to head into the third period up 3-1.

Dunn scored on a 2-on-1 rush at 13:37. Then it was Jaden Schwartz who Scott Mayfield to a loose puck behind the Islanders' net before he found former New York Rangers forward Kappo Kaako in the low slot at 16:28 of the second.

The Islanders had another two power-play opportunities in the middle frame, but one only lasted eight seconds after Duclair negated it. 

Jared McCann added an empty-netter at 16:32 of the third for a 4-1 final. 

With the loss and the Pittsburgh Penguins' win, the Islanders end the night sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division. 

UP NEXT: The Islanders host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday at 1 PM ET. 

Pregame

Kris Letang can’t go in this game due to an upper-body injury so go ahead and just don’t look at this blueline group tonight.

First period

Pittsburgh gets the first power play, Ryan Shea is out there with all the big guns. He looks nervous and loses the puck over his stick twice for no reason. They do get a few chances down to the net a little after that.

Shea looks a lot more comfortable at 5v5, feathering a shot in that Evgeni Malkin can deflect. Dustin Wolf overplayed the angle and gets caught leaning a little while the puck trickles on in to the far side. 1-0 Pens thanks to Malkin’s 11th goal of the season, 7:49 in.

Rest of the period scoots on along. Calgary is a nothin’ happenin’ team to start things off, generating only five shots on goal. Pittsburgh gets 11 and carries a 1-0 lead

Second period

Connor Dewar comes close to scoring a couple of times but can’t keep his hot hand going.

The second line comes through again, Malkin enters the zone and passes across the middle for Tommy Novak. Novak touches a pass over for Egor Chinakhov who pulls the puck back to change the angle catches Wolf with a hard shot, even though his body momentum is falling back from the net he still gets a lot of velocity on his seventh goal of the season. Pittsburgh pushes their lead to 2-0.

The Flames find a way to get a goal back juuust before the final buzzer. Zach Whitecloud takes a point shot that doesn’t look like much trouble until Yegor Sharangovich makes his way to the middle of the ice and puts a deflection on it. Ends up in the net with 2.7 seconds on the clock.

It was almost all systems under control, right up until the very last bit. Calgary gives themselves more of a chance and something to believe in heading into the third. Shots in the second were 9-8 in favor of CGY but Skinner was making it looks easy right up until a shock out of no where beat the buzzer.

Third period

Pittsburgh comes out the gates strong and responds to Calgary’s late-period goal. Bryan Rust gets down low and throws the puck to the net. Sidney Crosby is right out in front and hacks at a puck that leaks through Wolf and to the back of the net. 3-1 game 50 seconds into the third.

Dewar trips a Flame on the following shift to allow the first Calgary power play of the night, his teammates take care of business and keep the PK going strong.

Calgary has a great chance a little later when Pittsburgh’s defensive structure breaks down a little and an unmarked player in the middle of the ice takes a big shot. Skinner makes a great save with the glove that he can’t control but that ends up working out just as well. Jack St. Ivany plays the puck up for Novak and the Pens have a 2-on-1. The defender completely ignores Novak to take away the pass, so Novak skates the puck all the way in makes a slick backhand deke and casually flips the puck top shelf on Wolf. Pretty stuff for Novak’s ninth goal of the season and extend the lead to 4-1.

That capped off most of the notable moments. Calgary beat Skinner but glanced a shot off the post and from there it was just about riding the game out until the clock reached 0:00.

Some thoughts

• The Malkin line with Chinakhov and Novak are a super-fun watch. There’s obviously the production element on a night like tonight where each member of the line scored a goal. Even beyond those contributions they are playing exciting hockey, working off one another very well and growing in chemistry in the offensive zone as they get more time together. All have some speed on the puck all can handle the puck and are unafraid to carry it in and through opponents when they drive up the ice.
• Sidney Crosby took a Bryan Rust centering pass to what looked like the side of the leg above the knee on the first shift of the game. Looks like the worst was avoided save for a moment of pain that had the captain instantly doubled over and smarting for a bit. That’s all the Pens needed at this point when key players have been dropping like flies lately.
• Our key to the game for the Pens from the preview was out-scoring the expectations to improve over where they stumbled against Calgary two weeks ago in a 2-1 loss. Chinakhov’s second period goal (to make the score 2-0) on 1.04 total expected goals from Moneypuck. It was looking good at that point and continued from there. Crosby’s early third period goal extended that race to 3 actual goals vs 1.52 expected. In the end it shook out to be four goals on just over two expected, which is precisely what was needed. In the last Pens/Flames matchup the Pens weren’t getting the finishes. They had it tonight, leading to a fairly drama-free game of being out in front for most of the contest. That’s a good way to live.
• The developing story of the day for the Pens was breaking the goalie rotation to play Skinner again. Turned out to work very well, Skinner only saw 19 shots but did more than his part in allowing only one goal on 1.77 expected from the Flames.
• Another angle was that bare bones blueline for the evening. Gotta factor in quality of opponent (low!), also gotta tip a cap to those guys for a great effort. It was shades of the 2017 playoff run with an undermanned crew stepping up and doing what it takes to get the job done. Wotherspoon was breaking up plays all over the ice. Connor Clifton, as always, made his presence known with some big hits. Shea pitched in as he could on the one power play of the night. Even Ryan Graves blocked three shots. Forwards, especially centers like Ben Kindel and Blake Lizotte, were drifting way back defensively and appearing mindful to make themselves available as options for quick bail outs.
• One of the few times the Pens got trapped in their defensive zone for a long shift happened during the second period. Wotherspoon was almost 2:30 into his shift and still had enough vinegar in the tank to put Morgan Frost on his wallet twice. I don’t know if you want to call Wotherspoon the most improved player or maybe just the one who has had the opportunity to emerge this season and show his stuff, but my goodness he’s impressed at every turn. What a solid player he is.
• Speaking of that blueline, Kris Letang was only briefly on the ice for the morning skate, taking basically a quick lap around the rink and then leaving. That doesn’t sound like it bodes well for his chances to play tomorrow night against Edmonton. Erik Karlsson has been on the ice much more in recent days, though he couldn’t go today he did make a comment yesterday about not being a “mascot” for this road trip. Wouldn’t expect him to rush into a return three weeks prior to the start Olympics yet it would be a massive benefit if Karlsson can answer the bell tomorrow or at least on Sunday in Vancouver.

So that’s that, another impressive win in the books. Now the Pens move on quickly to Edmonton and get ready to take on an Oiler team that has been quite the boogeymen for them in recent years.

It's safe to say that the Pittsburgh Penguins are exceeding expectations so far this season, as they are squarely in the playoff race and thwarting any talk of the draft lottery entirely. 

As it stands now, they are second in the Metropolitan Division with 59 points, and they are on pace for 99 points this season. There is a pretty good chance that - if this pace holds - the Penguins will be soft buyers at the deadline, adding to fill some holes on their roster but doing so without mortgaging the future.

But there is also another option for the Penguins, and it's something that is picking up more and more steam: What if the Penguins go big?

And one of the biggest names out there is Dallas Stars superstar Jason Robertson. 

Robertson, 26, continues to put together impressive campaigns for the Stars, as he has 29 goals and 58 points in 50 games. That puts him on pace for 48 goals and 95 points, which is right on par with career numbers.

Of course, it's worth noting that if Robertson - a pending restricted free agent (RFA) - is dealt from Dallas, it likely will not occur until the offseason. The Stars are in the midst of a playoff race and currently sit 12 points behind the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche at second in the Central Division, so trading the 6-foot-3, 204-pound left winger prior to the deadline would certainly hurt their playoff goals. 

Latest Jason Robertson Contract Estimate Puts Stars in Cap TroubleNew estimate of Jason Robertson's next contract from NHL insider sparks concern on being able to retain the 26-year-old star forward.

But that doesn't mean it won't happen. Yes, the Stars are projected to have over $16 million in cap space this summer, so, hypothetically, they should be able to pay Robertson - who just switched agents - without issue. But the Stars also have seven other pending-UFAs and RFAs, and if Robertson is paid north of $12 million - as is rumored that he wants - it may be a bit tough for the Stars to fill out their rest of their roster and account for extensions like Thomas Harley's without shedding cap elsewhere. 

If Dallas and GM Jim Nill are serious about contending long-term, Robertson will be in a Stars' uniform next season. But if they feel they can't make it work, they should expect a pretty hefty return on the market.

So, do the Penguins and GM/POHO Kyle Dubas have what it takes to acquire Robertson, should he become available?

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Actually, they are in a better position than most of the other teams who would probably be interested in Robertson's services and could realistically have a shot. 

For one, the Penguins have boatloads of cap space to spare. According to PuckPedia, they are projected to have $52.9 million next season, and even if they have a lot of decisions to make on pending-UFAs and RFAs - they have 12 - none of them project to command a very high cap hit. So, financial flexibility is not an issue, and the Penguins can basically afford to pay Robertson whatever he wants.

In addition, and contrary to popular belief, the Penguins do have assets. Yes, the Stars, allegedly, aren't very interested in draft picks and prospects, but those assets are likely to be part of any package regardless because of the caliber of player they'd be trading. Pretty much any Penguins' prospect - aside from Ben Kindel and Sergei Murashov - should be fair game, and the Penguins have all three of their first-round picks for the next three seasons in addition to six second-round picks and six third-round picks.

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A scoring winger who is cost-controlled would make sense as part of a return, and the Penguins have that in Rickard Rakell or Bryan Rust. As would an NHL-ready prospect such as Rutger McGroarty. There is even talk of the Stars coveting a defenseman, too, and this could be a situation where a third team can get involved and take on Pittsburgh's draft capital as part of the deal to send the Stars a blueliner, assuming the Stars wouldn't be interested in prospect-level defensemen.

In some scenarios, the Penguins might have to get a little bit creative. But if the Penguins wanted to, they could make this work, even if they were forced to part with an additional asset in order to outbid other teams and get the deal across the finish line.

It would almost certainly cost more than this, but as a starting point, the Penguins are probably looking at something along the lines of Rakell, McGroarty, and a 2026 first-round pick. And if the Penguins do indeed make the playoffs, losing that first-rounder is going to sting a whole lot less, especially since they may have a high second-rounder in this year's draft if the Winnipeg Jets continue to lose hockey games.

There are a few other teams that could probably make a compelling offer, too. The Washington Capitals are projected to have $36.5 million in cap space next season and - like the Penguins - seem to be back on the upswing and have some compelling prospects. But they also have a bit more cap obligation than the Penguins, especially if Alex Ovechkin returns for another NHL season next year, and their NHL roster isn't chock-full of players Dallas would want or that Washington would part ways with.

The Anaheim Ducks - another team on the upswing - could be players because of their cap situation and capital/prospect pool as well. But, like the Capitals, they have some existing cap obligations, primarily to young RFAs like Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Olen Zellweger, all of whom will be due for a substantial raise. And they're unlikely to part with any of their younger cost-controlled NHL assets, even if they have a few enticing veterans they could bargain with.

There's also the Detroit Red Wings, who have both the cap space ($42.7 million) and the prospect pool to make it work but don't necessarily have the available or cost-controlled, coveted NHL assets to pull it off. Perhaps teams like the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, and New Jersey Devils make some degree of sense, as they have a few good but expendable NHL assets that they could leverage in a trade.

All in all, if Robertson is available, there are going to be a ton of teams vying for his services, and whoever comes out on top will likely end up paying a steep price. He's the exact kind of player a team on the verge of coming out of a rebuild should be vying for, as he provides the superstar talent for the better part of the next decade that such a team might otherwise be lacking.

So, the Penguins may have to give up quite a lot, but that's the price you pay for a premier NHL player in his prime who still has at least an entire contract extension's worth of elite years left in the NHL.

Newly Acquired Defenseman Could Be Sneaky Good Pickup For PenguinsUp to this point in the season, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> have been one of the most active teams in the league on the trade market.

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